So I'm reading the Jedi Academy trilogy now. (After finishing I, Jedi, which took place at the same time, I wanted to hear the rest of the story).

I'm not nearly finished yet, but something has come up several times now that got me thinking.

Luke is just about to begin training Jedi, but he realizes just how little he knows about the force compared to the old Jedi Masters. All his training was scant compared to the old Order, so he doubts his qualifications to teach. One specific recurring fear, though, is his idea that even Obi-Wan, a great Jedi Master, failed in training Anakin Skywalker, an error which released the monstrous Darth Vader on the galaxy.

It is a constant fear for Luke. "If Obi-Wan screwed up, then how can I be confident in myself as a teacher?"

The sentiment is repeated here and there in other works, laying the "blame" for Darth Vader on Obi-Wan. But the thing is, Obi-Wan didn't screw up. Anakin fell because of his fear of loss, his attachment to Padme, and the manipulations of Palpatine. Palpatine was in control of the situation far more profoundly than anyone imagined. There was very little that Obi-Wan could have possibly done differently as a teacher to prevent Anakin from going down that path.

But neither the authors of earlier EU novels, nor the characters in those novels saw the prequels, so all they could do was piece together the picture from what they knew.

Look at what Obi-Wan himself says. In ANH, he makes it sound rather simple. Obi taught Anakin, and Anakin turned evil. Even as early as ROTS, Obi-Wan holds himself responsible when he says "I have failed you Anakin." It is a modest, mature, and regretful approach, but it does not convey and entirely accurate message.


Don't worry Luke, the failure of student depends as much on that which makes them turn as it does what and how they were taught.